2000
#6,106
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,179
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.92
Rare Last name
Lefevre
An occupational surname referring to a worker of iron or other metals, from the French "fèvre" meaning "smith."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,275 Americans carry the last name Lefevre. That puts it at #6,036 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,622 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lefevre surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lefevre with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,622
Census rank
#6,036
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,472 bearers of the surname Lefevre in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6036th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lefevre, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lefevre
The surname LEFEVRE originated in France and is derived from the Old French words "le" meaning "the" and "fevre" meaning "blacksmith" or "smith". It was an occupational surname given to people who worked as blacksmiths or metalworkers.
This name was first recorded in the early Middle Ages, around the 12th century, when surnames began to be adopted in France. It was particularly common in the northern regions of France, including Normandy, Picardy, and Île-de-France.
One of the earliest known references to the surname LEFEVRE can be found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Bertin, a collection of medieval charters and records from the Abbey of Saint-Bertin in Saint-Omer, France, dating back to the 9th century.
In the 13th century, a man named Nicolas LEFEVRE was mentioned in the records of the city of Amiens, in northern France. Another notable early bearer of this name was Jean LEFEVRE, a 14th-century French theologian and author from the town of Ressons, near Paris.
During the Middle Ages, the surname LEFEVRE was sometimes spelled slightly differently, such as LEFEBVRE or LEFÈVRE, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
One of the most famous individuals with this surname was Jacques LEFEVRE d'Étaples (c. 1455-1536), a French scholar, theologian, and humanist who played a significant role in the early stages of the Protestant Reformation in France.
Another notable figure was Nicolas LEFEVRE (1544-1612), a French mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the development of trigonometry and the calculation of logarithms.
In the 17th century, Nicolas LEFEVRE (1610-1669) was a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled to Canada and helped establish Catholic missions among the indigenous populations.
During the 18th century, Pierre LEFEVRE (1708-1788) was a French architect and urban planner who designed several prominent buildings in Paris and other cities.
In the 19th century, Adolphe LEFEVRE (1835-1904) was a French painter and illustrator known for his depictions of military scenes and historical events.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lefevre
Among Census respondents with the surname Lefevre, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lefevre bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lefevre surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 4,707
- Black or African American5.0% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 245
- Two or more races3.1% · 168
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lefevre
Lefevre appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,472
+293 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 139 places
2020
#6,036
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,472
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Up 209 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,106 | 5,179 | 1.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,245 | 5,472 | 1.86 | +293 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 139 places |
| 2020 | #6,036 | 5,472 | 1.83 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 209 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lefevre surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,245 | #6,036 | 3.3% |
| Count | 5,472 | 5,472 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.86 | 1.83 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lefevre bearers went from 5,472 to 5,472 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 209 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,245 to #6,036.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lefevre
FAQ
Lefevre surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lefevre?
Name Census estimates that about 6,275 living Americans carry the surname Lefevre. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,622 residents.
How common is Lefevre?
Lefevre ranks #6,036 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,472 people with the surname Lefevre. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,275), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lefevre.
Has Lefevre become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lefevre went from 5,472 recorded bearers to 5,472. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,245 to #6,036.
What does the Census say about the background of Lefevre?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lefevre, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lefevre in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (4,707 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lefevre appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lefevre (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lefevre mean?
An occupational surname referring to a worker of iron or other metals, from the French "fèvre" meaning "smith." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lefevre (1.83 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Lefevre?
If you just want to know how many people are called Lefevre, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.